Federal Daily - December 15, 2009

Ft. Hood Attack: Whistleblower Bill Proposed To Prevent Recurrences

A new whistleblower law has been offered on Capitol Hill as a means to help prevent future ideologically motivated attacks, like the one that occurred at the Army’s massive Ft. Hood facility last month, killing 12 and injuring 31.

Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, proposes to augment current federal whistleblower law governing servicemembers to encourage whistleblowers to feel free to come forward and report possible threats in the ranks.

Under existing law, if a servicemember or other military employee blows the whistle on any violation of a regulation or law, they are—at least by statute—protected from reprisals, including negative personnel action or withholding of positive personnel action. Carter’s bill would extend that legal protection to those who disclose “ideologically based threats or actions,” specifically those that the whistleblower “reasonably believes could be counterproductive or detrimental to United States interests or security."

The accused perpetrator in the Ft. Hood killings, Army Major Malik Nadal Hasan, frequently evidenced troubling words and deeds prior to the shooting spree, behaviors that colleagues reported only after the event. Some said they detected in Hasan obvious warning signs that he might act violently, but they did not take action out of concern that they might be accused of unfairly profiling Hasan or otherwise violating unwritten rules of political correctness.

Carter summarized the need for his legislation: “If a military service member believes any person poses a clear and present danger to the military or the public, they need to be assured that reporting the danger or taking decisive action to prevent an attack is protected under the same whistleblower regulations as those for reporting suspected sexual harassment or mismanagement of funds or resources."

For more, go to http://carter.house.gov.

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Congressman Pushes Education Help For Vets

New legislation was introduced Dec. 14 offering help for veterans pursuing their education. Specifically, the bill would hasten the processing of certain GI Bill benefits—and forbid educational institutions from barring vets from class when the Department of Veterans Affairs falls behind in making timely educational payments.

Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., introduced the bill (H.R. 4279)—the main aim of which is to stop veterans from being forced to take on expensive debt in order to pay their own tuition while they are awaiting government payment of their GI Bill education benefits. Dubbed the GI Bill Accelerated Tuition Payment Act of 2009, the bill also creates an accelerated payment plan for eligible veterans receiving GI Bill benefits.
 
“The brave men and women of our military spend years on the front lines, directly in harm’s way but far from their loved ones,” Rep. Quigley stated, in announcing the proposed bill. “My legislation will ensure that no veteran must sacrifice any further, especially in an effort to continue his or her education.”

For more, go to http://quigley.house.gov/.

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